Rebecca's Rose

Rebecca's Rose

Forever After in Apple Lake #2

Paperback, ebook

August 1, 2012

With her mother ill, Rebecca Miller must take care of the house, the farm, and her younger siblings. Although she feels trapped at times, Rebecca is determined to fulfill a promise made to a dying friend. Then she meets a boy with good looks and a mischievous glint in his eye who just might help her keep her vow.

Levi Cooper was born into an Amish community and lived there until his father died and his mother married an Englischer. When shunned by their Amish relatives, they lived as Englischers. Now haunted by painful memories and on the path to self-destruction, Levi meets a lovely, adventurous Amish girl. Rebecca's growing attachment to Levi could lead to the loss of everything she holds dear. And will the secrets he keeps separate them forever?

Forever After in Apple Lake is a series of three standalone Amish books about cousins who find love in Wisconsin Amish country.

My thoughts: First, the disclaimer. "I bought a copy of this book. All opinions are my own." That done, I fell in love with Ms. Beckstrand's more recent books so I decided to go back and read her earlier ones. So, when I found REBECCA'S ROSE at a garage sale, I didn't think twice. I snagged. I absolutely loved Levi. He was a dear, sweet boy, though I was sad about his drinking problems and I wanted him to get over what hurt him so bad he felt the need to drink to dull the pain. Rebecca made me laugh. She was scared to death to do anything but since her best friend died before she achieved every item on her bucket list, Rebecca was determined to do it for her even if she scared herself to death. Not only did she scare herself, but she nearly killed herself, too, at least twice. The first half of the book was really good, and laugh out loud funny. The second half was more depressing and I found myself skimming a lot. There were some surprises, but otherwise, the second half was much more predictable than the first half. I enjoyed reading this book, and if you, like me, fell in love with Ms. Beckstrand's more recent books, then you might want to go back and read the earlier ones. Recommended. Ms. Beckstrand writes humorous Amish Romances like none other.

Thank you, Laura! I feel like I've really arrived as an author when you can find me at a garage sale. :) You can still get these books on Kindle, but I do believe they're out of print. They're still some of my favorites.